Gas Generator opinions and pricing

[Carl]

Buddies 6.5 Kolher gas genset crapped out. $2100.00 to rebuild the Core and electronics, he's wondering about replacing with a new unit.

I know nothing about gensets.
Any opinons as to whether to fix or replace. Started looking at new pricing and they seems to be in the 5500-6000 range. But not really sure which are good better and best and what is best for his needs.

Thanks,
Carl

[Harry Babb]

Carl
In 2005 I purchased a 5 KW Westerbeke and installed it in DeNada and I have absolutely no complaints at all.

The little guy ran at 1800 RPM and was as quiet as a church mouse. The other thing that I liked about it was its small size. I actually had it mounted outboard of the port engine 454 Marine Power.

Because of my current on going and on going and ongoing repower I removed the Westerbeke and sold it to a gentleman in California.

Everybody has their favorites......given the same circumstances I would purchase another Westerbeke with NO hesitation.

Harry

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[kipp]

Harry,
Did you do the install? Where did you purchase it. Because of the size, I am going with Westerbeke- either three or five Kw, for Targeted Species. Any suggestions on who to install, or other comments would be appreciated.
Happy Thanksgiving to all the Faithful,
Kipp

[Carl]

Thanks Harry,

Your right I am hearing more differing opinions then anything.

I did find the pricing is a bit higher. So far 8grand for a Kohler, 7200 for a Westerbeke, 5800 for a Whisper and we shall see what next week brings. Maybe he better off just having the Kolher repaired...No rush anyway as the season is over.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carl

[Harry Babb]

Kipp
I particularly chose the Westerbeke for a couple of reasons. One....I know of a lot of sailboats in the area that have the Westerbeke 4-107 engines and I alway thought highly of them.....I realize thats its a different engine but I have always had respect the name Westerbeke.....the other reason is its size.

I purchased the genset from Middleton Marine......they got it from a distributor in Miami.....cannot recall the name......

My mechanic buddy from Middleton tried hard to talk me out of purchasing the Westerbeke..... He told me that the clearance between the rotor and stator were very close compaired to other brands and if rust was to build up on the rotor it would ruin the unit. With that in mind I made it a point to keep the area as dry as possible.

I do not care for the 3.5 KW unit. The setup goes like this....the power head is an Outboard motor unit (Tohastu I think???) and it drives a generator via Vee-Belts....the engine is seawater cooled and will not last nearly as long as the 5Kw and larger units......but it is much lighter and smaller.

Another dealer around here really brags on Phasor.......I do not know if they make gas gensets.

I am an obsessive Do It Yourselfer........I did install the Westerbeke. Its not really hard at all. Dealing with the exhaust was the most difficult part.

If you choose to go with the 5 Kw Westerbeke I have a welded SS exhaust pipe that connects to the engine and bends around to connect to the 2" pipe that goes out the back.........you are welcome to it if you decide that you need it.

Good luck

Harry